The present invention relates in general to multiparty conference calls in a telecommunications network, and, more specifically, to text messaging between participants to a conference call using only the voice connections to the conference bridge without requiring a separate data network connection.
Audio teleconferencing has become an important means of collaboration among groups of people. Allowing many call participants to communicate simultaneously by voice using a telephone network avoids or reduces the need for travel to attend face to face meetings in many circumstances. An audio conference call typically utilizes a conference bridge for tying together all the call participants. The conference call is typically set up and hosted by one particular call participant often referred to as the call coordinator. The call coordinator is responsible for arranging access to a conference bridge and providing necessary information to each of the participants in order to access the conference call.
Once a conference call is in progress, participants may leave the call (e.g., by hanging up) or may join the ongoing call. It is desirable for all participants to be aware of the identities of all other participants currently in a conference call, but it is undesirable to cause disruptions or interruptions to an ongoing discussion in order to orally announce the joining of a new party. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0081751A1 in the name of Berstis proposes a data communication system in association with a conference call wherein participant information and the identity of a speaker (i.e., represented by the telephone number from which they called into the conference call) are transmitted to a text display for each call participant. All information is automatically generated and automatically sent to each participant.
Some information that a call participant may desire to convey to others during a conference call may be more effectively shared using visual text. For example, a participant may desire to inform all other call participants of contact information (such as an email address or telephone number) or other information such as a URL for a website. Speaking this information to be recorded individually by the other participants is subject to errors and is an inefficient use of the participants' time. Such information can be more effectively shared by sending a text-based message to the other participants, but this has caused the sharing of the information to be deferred, e.g., by subsequently sending out an email or other type of message including the information. A short text messaging service has been provided over cellular telephone services which can easily share this type of text information, but these messages have not been integrated with simultaneous voice conferencing and have not been integrated with traditional landline phone services.
Digital communication networks, such as ISDN and VoIP systems, are known which use a data channel to supplement voice conferences, provided that a data terminal or a personal computer is available to the call participant. Therefore, sharing of text messages simultaneously with a voice conference has required specialized equipment.
A digital interface or a versatile display suitable for text messaging are typically unavailable in col unction with analog customer premises equipment (CPE) connected to a land line in a plain old telephone service (POTS). One type of display which is frequently available, however, is the caller ID screen. U.S. Pat. No. 6,404,868 issued to Beamish et al. has suggested using caller ID devices to display information exchanged on a peer to peer basis. However, message initiation and exchange requires generation of an FSK signal for every transmission. Therefore, real-time text messaging wherein a message is to be generated using a CPE device (i.e., telephone) without special equipment is not possible in Beamish et al.
There is a need for a flexible text messaging system usable in connection with an analog voice conference in an analog voice telephone network without special equipment. No existing or proposed system has allowed a conference call coordinator to control the flow of supplemental information during a call or has permitted participants to exchange other kinds of text-based information.